Forming machines



FORMING MACHINES Filed sept. 1o, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 GERHARD H. APPELBY @1MM ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL 2,970,500

FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. l0, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 IFJ: E- E YINVENTOR.

GERHARD H. APPEL BY wm Rm ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL FORMINGMACHINES 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. l0, 1958 L E P P R. A mH. ED wm IH R E G S vu E N R ,0 T T A Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL 2,970,500

FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. l0, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR.

GERHARD H. APPEL ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL 2,970,500

FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. 10, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet l5 INV EN TOR.

@l l GERHARD H. APPEL Bywwgenzm ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL2,970,500

FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. 10, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR.

GERHARD H. APPEL ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL 2,970,500

' FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. 10, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Y INVENTOR,GERHARD H. APPEL www www ATTORNEYS Feb. 7, 1961 G. H. APPEL 2,970,500

FORMING MACHINES Filed Sept. l0, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 m. l g 3g;

INVENTOR.

GERHARD H. APPEL www) @m ATTORNEYS United StaCS '.[atetni vC f' FORMINGMACHINES Gerhard H. Appel, Belle River, ntario, Canada, assignor toAppel Process, Ltd., Gshawa, Ontario, Canada Filed Sept. 10, 1958, Ser.No. 760,268

8 Claims. (CI. 78-22) This application relates to forming machines andparticularly to forming machines generally of the character disclosed ina prior application of mine, Ser. No. 450,500 of the United States,filed August 17, 1954, now abandoned whose disclosure is incorporatedhereinto by reference.

One specific object of the present invention is to provide a formingmachine generally according to the character disclosed in the saidapplication but characterized by the fact thatthe dies and die axes arearranged between the radial axes of the die movers rather than alongsuch radial axes whereby the force on each die is not merely the forceof one die mover but rather is a resultant of the forces of two diemovers between which is the die. Thus, each die mover engages two dies,and each die is engaged by two die movers. In this way, a greater degreeof accuracy of movement of the die along a radial axis transverse to theworkpiece feeding axis is assured because the `die is engaged by two diemovers on opposite sides of the radial axis of the die itself.

Inasmuch as the die mover axes converge upon bevelled edges of the dies,towards the center, the two forces on a die from two diemoversyconverge, and this results in the forces being towards eachother, a desired result.

A further object is to provide a construction wherein the radial axis ofthe die is between and preferably midway between the radial axes of twodie movers, with the further improvement and object being that each diemover engages parts of two different dies whereby the force from eachdie mover is distributed equally over two dies and whereby each diereceives its force from two die movers. YA still further object of thepresent invention is' to provide in a machine of the general characterdisclosed in the said application, a construction wherein the dies areadjustable along the workpiece feeding axis whereby they may be adjustedto present different portions of their faces to the workpiece and to thedie throat defined by the dies as the dies are adjusted along theworkpiece feeding axis.

The dies are formed as rotors; they may be formed as rotary eccentricswith their throat defining workpiece engaging faces of varying contour,i.e., of varying distance from their axes of rotation, with respect tothe workpiece feeding axis. Thus, these faces together define throats ofvarying form as the dies are rotated or adjusted along the workpiecefeeding axis. In this way, by rotating or adjusting all the diessimultaneously and similarly, ,the throat forms may be varied and'thusthe external contour of the workpiece being fed along the feeding axismay 1be` varied.

The dies could be formed as rotors with varying congurations such as forexample, stepped surfaces, toproduce workpieces with diameters varyingby steps.

The dies can be formed as concentric rotors rather are mounted to rotateabout axes transverse to the radial 2,970,500 Patented Feb. 7, 19611axis on which ,they move in their forming strokes and transverse to theworkpiece axis. By rotation of the dies, these already being defined asrotary eccentrics, and as having working faces of varying contour,different forms of die throats are formed as the workpiece is fed alongthese feeding axes. 1

Each die is elongated, i.e., it is of such a length, meas ured along theworkpiece axis, that it comprises many increments of work-engagingareas. Thus, by moving the die, different work-engaging areas may besuccessively presented to the work. With the die so constructed that thesuccessively diiierent work-engaging area increments are of differentdistances from the workpiece axis, so adjusting or moving the die variesits effective distance, at given moments, from the workpiece axis. Sincethere are several such dies, so moving them simultaneously varies thethroat diameter. To obtain such variation by so moving or adjusting thedies is one object of the present invention.

In the specific embodiment disclosed, the dies are formed as rotaryeccentrics and adjustment is obtained 'by rotation of the diessimultaneously to present different portions of the die faces to thework.

For an understanding of the embodiment of the invention disclosedherein, and for a better understanding of the matter in which theforegoing and other inherent objects are attained, reference should behad to the appended drawings and to the following specification whichrelates to them.

In these drawings:

Fig. l (lA and 1B) is an end view, to reduced scale, showing a completemachine.

Fig. 2 illustrates the geometry of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a partial end view, with parts in section.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section View on line 5-5 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a section view on line 66 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a die and the means for rotating it.

Fig. 8 shows a modified form of die in side view.

Fig. 9 is a section on line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 1B shows a motor 1 which drives a ring gear 2 meshing with pinions3 of four equally spaced eccentric shafts 8 (Fig. 1A) within eighteccentrics 9 of eight driver rods 10. These have cams 13 which operate,through eight rollers 11 and eight rollers 12 and fou'r backing plates14 and eight adjustable arcuate wedges 1 6 in housing 17 on fourintermediate blocks 20. These operate through eight rollers 21, on eight.inserts 22 seated in four rotary eccentric or spiral dies 23 arrangedaround the workpiece 24 whose axis is at 25.

Parts 11-22 comprise die movers whose axes of movement are shown at 26,there being eight such axes for the four dies 23. (See Fig. 2.)

Two types of motion must be given to each spiral die 23. The first ispositioning this die, while it is retracted from axis 25, byincrementally rocking it clockwise Vor counterclockwise around axis 27transverse of the workpiece axis 25. The second is to move it along axis28 transverse of the axes 27 and 28 towards or away from the workpieceaxis 25 in working strokes which take place between the rocking orpositioning strokes of the die. f

Each of the four die axes 28 is midway between tw die mover axes 26.

The increments of rocking of the spiral die for positioning cumulate toabout in the case of the die ,of Figs. 1-7, and up to 315 in the case ofthe die of Figs. 8-9 later to be explained. The total arc of rocking isindicated by the arcuate lines 29 shown twice on Fig. 5 and extendingfrom position 1-1 to position 2-2.

The other motions of each die 23 are the forming strokes. These occur inot-beat relation to the first or rocking strokes. The. forming strokesare only about three thousandths of an inch and are advances of the diesalong axes 28 towards axis 2-5, in response to movements of the diemover parts along axes 26 in response to movementsA- of the drivers 10along axes 60.

Die positioning parts A ring gear 39 (Fig. 5) of the machine, throughgears 39a, rotates each of four shafts 40, each having a bevel gear 41cooperating with a bevel gear 42 on the end of a: shaft 43. The partsthus rotate shafts 43 on axes 27. Each of these shafts carries and isconnected to a rocker arm 44 (Fig. 7) connected by pins 49 to links 45in turn connected to a block 47 integral with die 23. Each shaft 43 atits ends is journalled in stationary brackets 50 and the. lattersupports the parts just mentioned.

Block 47 is shown as integral with die 23. It could be separate from itin which case it would be splined to die23; or it could be formed withexternal gear teeth meshingv with internal gear teeth on die 23.

The rocking. or positioning motion for each die 23, is only4 forincrementally rocking and thus positioning each of lthe dies 23, and therocking strokes of dies 23 take place only between the working strokesof these dies and. is without load.

Working stroke partsv The working stroke is simply a matter of movingeach spiral die 23, while it is at rest, about .003 inch along axis 28',in whatever position it has assumed and been given by the positioningparts 39--50- The driving force on each spiral die for a Working strokeis obtained from one eccentric shaft 8 along two driver axes 60, whichare 90 apart, from two drivers 10 lacting through the cams 13, therollers 12, the blocks 20, the rollers 21, and the inserts 22, whichmove on axes 26. Thus, each spiral die 23 while at rest is movedV bybeingv subjected to the converging force of two drivers 10 operating onaxes 60 from the same eccentric shaft S but not operating through thesame set of cams and rollers (10-11'--1213-14-20-21-22), etc. Thus, eachspiral die is operated upon by the parts (l-22) associated with oneeccentric shaft but with two diierent sets of parts (l0- 22) at 90 toeach other.

It is to be noted that the dies are constantly in contact with the work.The die travel is .003 inch radially on axes 28 and they can shift ontheir 45 axes 26 a maxitnum of about .0015 inch. This amount of shiftingis tolerable in this machine.

An important feature of this machine is the fact that each die issubjected to compressive or converging forces at' 90, on axes 26,opposed to each other but directed towards each other and towards theworkpiece axis. These forcesA come from the drivers and cams, etc. (I0-22), and thus each die instead of being subjected to diverging forceswhich tend to spread it apart is subjected to converging forces. Hence,it is important to note that each die is subjected to converging forces90 opposed but directed towards each other and the center of the die.

Inasmuch as there are four dies operated simultaneously, it becomesnecessary` to provide for an adjustment for the die effects.

Thus, for example, if it turns out that one spiral` die 23 is slightlyolf with respect to another die 23, instead of adjusting these two dieswith respect to each other, itv is merely necessary to adjust theworking parts (l1-22) for any one or more dies 23 and this adjustment isobtained by adjusting the curved wedges 16 as described more in detailin my prior patent application Ser. No. 604,372 of August 17, 1956.Thus, the operation of each die maybe adjusted by means of theseadjusting wedges 16' by adjusting the eect of each die on the workpiece,not by adjusting the position of that die" itself` but by; adjustingAthe position of thel working 4. parts (1122)' which" work on that die,andthe na'l effect is still obtained but without the necessity fortouching the dies themselves.

Each insert 22, of which there are eight for the four spiral dies 23, isseated (Fig. 3) on an arcuate shoulder 51 of the spiral die 23, to forma bevelled edge for the die. However, the insert is only about as longas the roller 21, and this in turn is considerably shorter than thetotal arcuate length of the spiral die. The insert 22 has a shallowarcuate groove S2 which seats the roller 21. Thisroller rotates in suchseat 52 on its own axis 53, a matter of a very few degrees or so, andonly during the workingstroke ofthe parts. The roller 21 seats in thegrooved seat S2 ofthe insert 22 which in turn seats on a shoulder 51lof-'the spiral diel 23, and there is relative rotary motion at 52between the roller 21 and the insert 22 in the spiral die 23 under load,i.e., during the working stroke.

Theres, of course, considerableV relative motion along the surface 51between thev spiral die 2.3i and" the insert 22 during the positioningstrokes* of the spiral die, but this is not underload.

Such relative motion of insert 22 and die 23 occurs only during thepositioning of the spiral die, for the insert 22 at all times remains.with the rollerV 21?, whereas the spiral die 23v moves relative to`inserti 22' in increments a total of 130, inthe case of the die of Figs.1-7`.

Lost motion The spiral diesv 23' move during. the working: strokes whilethe positioningparts 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, etc., are at rest. Hence, lostmotion' is' provided! between die 23 and the positioning parts to permitthe required threethousandths or so inch travel of the spiral die 23with respect to the then stationary bracket 50 and shaft 43 on axis 27,and this isl obtained bythe use of rubber bushings 71 (Fig. 5) aroundthe pins 49 which con'- neet links-45 to rocker 44. These bushings 71,together with the elastic deformation of: thei links 45, rocker 44 andthe joints provided by pins 49; will enable-the spiral die 23 to movethree-thousandths of an inch or so with respect tothe shaft 43 and.lbracket 50' during the working stroke ofthe dies, as for example,.whenthe dies 23f' are moved by the inserts 22f responsive to the.v action onthese inserts of the rollers 21.1, the intermediate' blocks 20, therollers` 12, the cams 13, thel drivers 10, the eccentrcs19, andtheeccentricshafts 8;'

Figs. 8 9v show a die 123 formed to act. throughza.` distanceV of about315 rather than 135", as in'theI case ofthedie of Figs. 1 7.

The die 123Y is formed: to rotate around axis 127 and is rotated by thefollowing. parts. A ring gear 39 (not shown),.but correspondingto gear39 ofv Figs. 5, 6 rotates a shaft 143-fxed toa cross 144' whosespokes1r45- are connected by pins 149 in rubber bushings 171 insideholesof-a ring 147 integral with die 123; Parts 12S-147 may beseparately formedI and splined or gear meshed toV each other. Rotationofthe four shafts. 143 simultaneously'causes. rotation andv adjustment ofall four dies 123 for: varying the throat diameter.

Conclusion Now havingl described the machine herein disclosed, referenceshould be had to the following claims.

I` claim:

1. In a forming machine having means for feeding an elongated workpiecelongitudinally alongA the workpiece axis; at least three dies spacedequally around and equally distant from the workpiece axis with each diehaving an inner face formed as the workingl face and having twoangularly related outer facesy opposing the working face; with theseouter faces of each die being at anglesV of not over to each other andwith adjacent outer faces of adjacent dies being co-planar; the

dies being movable on radial die axes towards and away from theworkpiece axes; die movers equal in number to the dies and outside ofthem and spaced equally around and equally distant from the workpieceaxis but further away from the workpiece axis than the dies, and movableon radial die mover axes towards and away from the workpiece axis; thedie axes being midway between the die mover axes and the die mover axesbeing midway between the die axes; each die mover being wide enough tostraddle and simultaneously engage and move the coplanar adjacent outerfaces of two adjacent dies; and each die being wide enough to straddleand be engaged by and moved simultaneously by two die movers on its twoouter faces; and means for simultaneously moving all die movers and diesradially on their axes.

2. ln a forming machine having means for feeding a workpiecelongitudinally along a workpiece axis; at least three dies spacedequally around and equally distant from the workpiece axis with eachhaving an inner face formed as a working face; the several working facesdefining a die throat; the dies being radially movable simultaneouslyunder equal and simultaneously applied radial loads in working strokeson radial die axes towards and away from the workpiece axis; means forsimultaneously moving and loading all dies radially inwardly andoutwardly along the die axes in working strokes; with each die havingits working face of varying contour measured radially from the workpieceaxis and mounted to be oscillatable for adjustment along the workpieceaxis to aline different portions of the working face of that die withthe die axis of that die; and means for oscillating and thus adjustingall the dies along the workpiece axis simultaneously and equally toconstrict or enlarge the die throat.

3. A construction according to claim 2 wherein each die is an eccentricsegment and is mounted for adjustment to rotate around a die adjustingaxis transverse of the die axis and of the workpiece axis and whereinthe means for adjusting the dies comprises means for rotating the dieson their die adjusting axes.

4. A construction according to claim 1 wherein each die has its workingface of varying contour measured radially from the workpiece axis andmounted to be oscillatable for adjustment along the workpiece axis toaline different portions of the working face of that die with the dieaxis of that die; and means for oscillating and thus adjusting all thedies along the workpiece axis simultaneously and equally to constrict orenlarge the die throat.

5. A forming machine having at least three dies arranged radially abouta central axis, each die having two associated die mover means arrangedradially around such central axis but arranged outwardly of the die,each die being out of radial alinement with the two associated die movermeans but rather midway between them, with each die being engaged by twoassociated die mover means simultaneously; with each die mover meansbeing arranged to engage parts of two dies; each die being adjustablealong the central axis to present different portions of their faces tothat axis, the dies having their axis facing faces of varying contourwith respect to that axis and means for adjusting all the diessimultaneously and similarly; each die for adjustment being mounted torotate around a die adjusting axis transverse of the central axis; themeans for adjusting the dies comprising means for rotating the dies onthese die adjusting axes of rotation; each die mover means engagingparts of two dies simultaneously; each die being a segment ot aneccentric having spokes meeting in a hub which mounts it for rotationand having two beveled edges each engaged by a die mover.

6. A forming machine having a central axis along which an elongatedworkpiece may be fed; four identical dies arranged in a working plane,which is normal to the central axis, and spaced equally around the axisand spaced equidistantly from the axis to form a die throat; each of thedies having an inner working face which denes a portion of the diethroat and an outer face opposing the working face, the two side edgesof each of the outer faces being bevelled at equal but opposite anglesrelative to that axis of the die which is radial to the central axis andthe dies being movable towards and away from the central axis to thusconstrict and enlarge the die throat; t'our identical die moversarranged in the plane of the dies and equally spaced around the centralaxis but located further from the central axis than are the dies, eachdie mover being movable only towards and away from the central axisalong a die mover axis which is radial to the central axis and islocated midway between the radial axes of two adjacent dies so that theaxis of movement of each die mover is located between two radial dieaxes; each die mover having an inner end arranged in contact with twoadjacent bevelled side edges of two adjacent dies so that each die movercontacts two separate dies and each die is contacted by two separate diemovers, and means for simultaneously moving all the die movers alongtheir respective axis of movement towards and away from the central axisfor pushing the dies towards the central axis.

7. A construction as defined in claim 6 and Veach of the die workingfaces being elongated and identically curved in a plane containing thecentral axis, that is, in a plane which is normal to said working planein which the dies are moved towards and away from the central axis, andmeans for simultaneously moving all the dies in a direction transverseto the working: plane for constricting and enlarging the die throat inaddition to changes in the die throat due to movement of the dies underinfluence of the die movers.

8. A construction as defined in claim 6 and wherein each of the dies iselongated and is equally curved away from the central axis in thedirection of the central axis and wherein the die movers engage thatpart of the die which is located in said working plane, :and meanssupporting and interconnecting the dies and for simultaneously andequally moving all the dies in the direction of the central axis whenthe die movers are moved away from the central axis for changing thepart of the die working face which is in the working plane and which isengaged by the die movers; and lost motion means connecting the dies tothe means for supporting and interconnecting the dies wherein the diesare normally held against movement in the direction of the central axisbut are normally movable towards .and away from the central axis in aradial direction.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS234,931 Thompson Nov. 30, 1880 249,268 ThompsonV Nov. 8, 1881 570,816Price Nov. 3, 1896 647,201 Rowley Apr. 10, 1900 773,197 Crawshaw Oct.25, 1904 952,298 Berg Mar. 15, 1910 2,247,863 Tiedemann July 1, 19412,301,093 Tiedemann Nov. 3, 1942 2,863,342 Appel Dec. 9, 1958 FOREIGNPATENTS 724,515 France Jan. 29, 1932 49,937 France .Tune 6, 1939 721,769Great Britain Jan. 12, 1955 3420lb Germany Mar. 22, 1956 934,137 GermanySept. 9, 1954

